Enchanted
by merder32
Summary: Meredith Grey has a past that she desperately wants to leave behind. However, as she starts her internship at Seattle Grace, a face from her past reappears in her life, leaving her to deal with the repercussions. Does Derek Shepherd have anything to do with her past, or is he trying to save her from her haunting past? MerDer AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, readers! And welcome on board for my new story! Those of you that are reading my other stories, you need not be worried. They will still be updated regularly. That being said, the updates of this story will come at a somewhat slower pace, but I will make up for the delay with long chapters. I didn't want to post this fic till I had "I'll Be There..." wrapped up, but the plot bunny came to me and just won't leave me alone.**

 **The idea for this fic actually came from a prompt by Annajadekin, so a big thank you to Anna for giving me this wonderful idea! Without further ado,**

* * *

 **Enchanted**

 _...and it was enchanting to meet you_

 _All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you..._

Meredith Grey sat in one of the pews inside the small church in Seattle, staring into space. It was four in the morning, and it was officially Christmas Day now. She knew that people were going to start filling up the church soon. That was why she was sitting in a church at 4 in the morning, staring blankly at God. She had always hated Christmas because Christmas was always a rough day for her. Too many memories – too many horrible memories were associated with the day. Memories that still gave Meredith nightmares and cold sweats. Memories that Meredith tried so hard to forget, but she couldn't. It was not easy to forget that horrific experience that she had...

So, Meredith had come to the church at a time when she knew it would be empty, to find some peace of mind. She had never been one to pray – heck, she didn't even believe in God, but she had discovered that for some weird reason, she felt calmer when she was inside a church. The voices screaming inside her head quieted down for a while and the images that were permanently embedded in her mind and heart vanished. The serenity, the tranquillity of the church calmed her down and made all the sadness and regret go away for some time.

However, the quiet of the church was broken when Meredith heard footfalls. She turned around a little to see that a tall, dark-haired man in an overcoat was walking towards her. She eyed the man carefully from head to toe as per her usual instinct before remembering that she shouldn't be eying strangers warily anymore. She didn't need to be alert and alarmed all the time. She was not the old Meredith Grey who was alert and had her eyes and ears open all the time, anymore. That was her past, and she had left that past behind long ago. So, she quietly turned around and went back to staring straight ahead again.

Meredith didn't budge as the footsteps neared and finally ceased, and then Meredith felt someone sit down on the bench beside her. She didn't turn her eyes towards the de trop stranger who had now taken a seat beside her. She was too lost in her own thoughts to even care.

"Hi," the stranger said, causing Meredith to finally look at him. And Meredith nearly gasped at how blue the pair of eyes she was staring into was.

"Hello," Meredith said politely, with a soft nod. She didn't want to talk to random strangers who came to the church at 4 in the morning. Well, technically, she was one of those random strangers too, but still. She had come to the church to find some peace and quiet. She hadn't come to chat up random strangers with amazingly perfect hair and piercing blue eyes.

"It's nice here, isn't it?" the stranger said, causing Meredith to grit her teeth. "Nice, peaceful, quiet," he said.

Well, it was nice, peaceful and quiet here, until you came and started babbling, Meredith thought to herself. This stranger was good-looking, but that didn't matter because he was grating on her nerves, big time. He had barely said two sentences to her and Meredith already disliked him. She didn't know why, though. Maybe it was because of her mood. She was always in a dark, brooding mood on Christmas, and anyone who came in her way at that particular time of the year copped an earful from her for no particular reason at all.

"Yes. Yes, it is," Meredith said tersely, hoping that the stranger would leave her alone. He would leave her alone if he knew what was good for him. She was particularly snappy on Christmas, but for some reason, she didn't want to take out her anger on this stranger, no matter how much he grated on her nerves.

"So..." The stranger spoke again, causing Meredith to take a deep breath. So much for quiet and peaceful. "May I ask what you are doing in a church, all alone, on Christmas, that too at 4 in the morning?" he asked with a small smile.

Meredith saw his smile out of the corner of her eye and her temper flared. "Well, I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I?" she said in a snarky voice.

The stranger chuckled. "Well, you could. My family lives in New York. I always go there for the holidays, but this year, I have to work, so I am all alone here in Seattle. That's why I thought I'd come to the church and..." the stranger continued to talk. Meredith had a strong, irresistible urge to punch him in the gut for his entire information overload.

"So, what's your story?" he asked at the end of his lengthy explanation.

"I don't have a story. I am just a girl in a church," Meredith replied with a shrug, not throwing him another look.

"Hmm...Well, I am just a guy in a church then," the stranger said, and Meredith wondered if he would shut up now.

"Hmm..." Meredith hummed noncommittally and the duo lapsed into silence. Meredith sighed inaudibly in relief.

"You don't talk much, do you?" the stranger broke the silence again and this time, Meredith couldn't hold back her anger.

"I don't talk to strangers," Meredith snarked in a cold voice, smiling inwardly when she saw the look on the stranger's face. She was used to this. She was used to turning people's thought processes cold with one snarky remark. She had done it for years before med school.

"Well, you sound like a five year old to me," the stranger quipped back, surprising Meredith. She looked up at him in shock as her mouth fell slightly agape. She had not expected the stranger to say anything to her at all, let alone quip back.

However, Meredith recovered from her initial shock quickly and retorted, "If that's what you would like to think, then so be it." And with that statement, Meredith stood up from the seat and proceeded to walk out of the church.

"Hey, where are you going?" the handsome yet irritating stranger said, "Don't leave on my accord."

Meredith rolled her eyes and gave the stranger a long look. "Believe me, I'm not leaving because of you. If I didn't want your company, I wouldn't have left. I would have made **you** leave," Meredith said with a smirk.

"Oh really?" the stranger said with a quirk of his eyebrow. "Are you always this arrogant and rude to strangers?"

"Only to those whose guts I hate," Meredith quipped and walked away from him before he had a chance to reply.

However, before she stepped out of the church, the stranger called out to her, "Merry Christmas!"

Meredith smiled to herself at the stranger's tenacity and guts. She had said it to his face that she didn't like him, she had been beyond rude to him, and yet, he was wishing her a merry Christmas. She owed it to him to wish him back, notwithstanding her mood or the dark day.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Meredith turned around and shouted back, throwing the stranger one last look before finally walking out of the church.

Meredith Grey wasn't like this. She wasn't rude to random strangers for no reason at all. Her parents had taught her her manners well, and she knew how to talk to people politely on all the 364 days of the year. But, Christmas was an exception. It was the guy's misfortune that he had met her on Christmas. Because, if he had met her on any other day of the year, she would have struck up a conversation with him, she might have liked him – heck, she might even have gone home with him, given how sinfully handsome he was. But, not on Christmas. On Christmas, Meredith Grey was snippy with anyone she met. Christmas Day was a holiday for all people, but for Meredith Grey, it was the doomsday.

* * *

It was the day after New Year, and it was Meredith's first day at work. Her first day as an intern in Seattle Grace Hospital. The first day of her new life. She was officially turning over a new leaf, she was starting afresh. And as she stood in the interns' locker room, taking out her stethoscope and shoving her street clothes inside her locker, she looked around the room at all the new faces. All the new interns had a suppressed excitement and nervousness, but Meredith didn't feel any nervousness. Excitement, yes, but she wasn't nervous. She knew she had dealt with some terrible things before and nothing she was going to face here could top that. So, Meredith Grey stood proud and confident in a room full of twitterpated young interns.

After about ten minutes, Meredith walked over to the nurses station with four more interns in tow. They had all been assigned the same resident, Dr. Bailey. Meredith hadn't bothered to learn the names of the four other interns. She was here to learn and work, not to make friends. And besides, she knew by now what making friends entailed...

"Hi. I am Isobel. Isobel Stevens," a tall, blonde girl who looked more like a model, came towards Meredith and said, offering her hand. By then, the five interns had reached the nurses station and were waiting for their resident to come.

"Hi. I am Meredith, Meredith Grey," Meredith said in a soft, polite voice, shaking the girl's hand. She gave Isobel a small smile and then went back to fiddling with her wrist watch. She was not great at making friends. Well, not anymore. At once upon a time, she used to be an outgoing and social person. But now, she was reserved and introverted, and talked very less.

Soon enough, a short black woman approached them and said in a gruff voice, "I'm Dr. Miranda Bailey, your resident for this year."

Isobel immediately accosted Dr. Bailey and introduced herself. However, Isobel was only rewarded with a glare from Dr. Bailey. Dr. Bailey started walking and the group of five interns followed her.

"I have five rules," Dr. Bailey said as she walked, "Memorize them. Rule 1: Don't bother sucking up. I already hate you. That's not going to change. Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers. Nurses will page you. You answer every page at a run. A run, that's rule 2. Your first shift starts now and last 48 hours. You're interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain. Run labs, write orders, work every second and night until you drop and don't complain. On call rooms, attendings hog them; sleep when you can, where you can. Which brings me to rule 3: If I'm sleeping don't wake me unless your patient is actually dying. Rule 4: The dying patient better not be dead when I get there. Not only would you have killed someone, you would have waked me for no good reason. Are we clear? Rule 5: When I move, you move." Dr. Bailey ended her monologue as the group reached the second floor nurses station.

"Now, I am going to assign each of you to a case on which you will work with your attendings. The attendings will not come and find you – you have to go and find your attendings, wherever they are," Bailey said and pulled out a chart from one of the drawers. "Karev, you are with Dr. Pearce. He is the head of cardio. Stevens, you are with Dr. Boswell, the head of OB/GYN. O'Malley, you are with Shepherd, the head of neuro. Harris, you are with Dr. Robbins, the head of paediatrics. And Grey, you are with Hunt, the head of trauma."

As soon as Meredith heard the name Hunt, her pupils dilated and her breathing quickened. Hunt? She – she knew a Dr. Hunt. Or she **had known** a Dr. Hunt once upon a time. He had been a trauma surgeon too. But that...No, it was impossible that this Dr. Hunt was the Dr. Hunt that Meredith had known. That Dr. Hunt...He was...No, there had to be at least thousands of trauma surgeons in the United States with the last name Hunt. Meredith tried to control her erratic breathing by mentally reasoning with herself. No, no. What she was thinking was next to impossible. This Dr. Hunt was a different Hunt, not the one she had known. The one she had known belonged to her past – her past that she was trying her damndest best to leave behind.

Meredith wanted to laugh out loud at the irony of it all as she set out to find Dr. Hunt. What were the odds that she had to be assigned to a trauma attending with the last name Hunt? Life really played some cruel jokes sometimes. The more Meredith tried to forget her dark past and move forward, the more her past haunted her. Meredith's breathing was still erratic as she tried to recover from the shock she had received on hearing the name Hunt. No, Meredith thought to herself, that was my past. I have left it behind. This is my present and my future. So what a Dr. Hunt is going to be a part of my present and my future too? He is just another attending.

Inhaling a deep, calming breath, Meredith put on her confident façade once more and walked towards a nurses station. Approaching the nurse sitting behind the desk, Meredith said, "Hi. Can you please page Dr. Hunt, the head of trauma for me?"

The nurse nodded and set to work. Meredith leant against the desk and tapped her foot nervously as she waited with bated breath. No matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to calm down till she saw it for herself that this Dr. Hunt was a different Dr. Hunt. He had to be. There was no way in hell that...No, she was thinking impossible things now. It was just not possible.

As Meredith stared at an invisible spot on the floor and waited facing the nurses' desk, someone came up behind her and said, "Debbie, you paged me?"

The voice made Meredith's heart jump into her throat. She...She knew that voice. She knew that voice all too well. She gulped back and slowly turned around to face the person standing behind her. And the person her eyes alighted on made her throat dry. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in horror, her face blanched and her mouth fell agape. She stared at the person for a long time as the person stared back at her with a similar expression.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Meredith managed to say in a ghost of a whisper, her face pale, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her palms sweaty, "O – Owen?! You...You are alive?!"

* * *

 **A/N: There goes the first chapter of "Enchanted." And before anyone has any questions about it, this is strictly a MERDER fic. I have listed Owen as one of the characters because he does play a BIG role in this story, but that doesn't mean that I am going to pair up Meredith with him.**

 **That being said, any guesses, people? About why Meredith hates Christmas and why she is so shocked to see Owen? I'd love to hear what you people think about it.**

 **I posted this fic because I'm going to be totally alone on Christmas this year. My family is in England and so, having nothing else to do, I wrote this fic. Some love from you guys will really warm up my otherwise cold, lonely Christmas! :)**

 **So, tell me, should I continue this fic or not? It's all up to you guys! I have started writing the second chapter, but if you are not at all interested in this story, then I'll not continue. Let me know what you think! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Oh my goodness, thank you for the amazing response to this, guys! I can't believe that so many of you reviewed! I have never had such a mind-blowing response to a story before. As for your guesses, I have to tell you this – some of you were** _ **extremely**_ **close. Extremely. Without further ado, let's see if a few more clues can help you guess what really happened...**

* * *

 _...Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"_

 _Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me..._

Meredith couldn't believe her eyes as she stared, open-mouthed, at Owen. He was standing right there, in front of her, in flesh and blood, mirroring her expression. And Meredith was having a hard time believing that Owen was alive after all this time...No, she was probably hallucinating or something. It wouldn't be the first time for her. She had experienced hallucinations multiple times in the past, though they had ceased altogether in the recent days. It must be one of her hallucinations. He was...Owen Hunt was dead. And dead people didn't pop out of nowhere one fine day.

"Meredith? Is it really you?" Owen said in a shocked voice, but his expression was not even close to Meredith's look of horror. Meredith looked like she had seen a ghost. Owen was a little more composed than that. He had always been a level-headed, calm and composed guy.

Great, Meredith thought to herself. Now, I am hallucinating that Owen is alive and here, talking to me. Just perfect. Snap out of it, Grey. Dead people don't come back.

"Meredith, I..." Owen started to say again, but he suddenly shifted his gaze and looked around at all the people bustling around. And just like he had magically appeared in front of Meredith out of nowhere, he caught Meredith's elbow and dragged her with him to God knew where.

Meredith allowed Owen to drag her along with him wordlessly. She was still in a stupor and had no idea where Owen was taking her. It was strange. No one had ever dragged her to places in her hallucinations before. She looked down at her elbow, where Owen's hand was gripping it, and tried to wrap her head around it. Could she feel people's touches in her hallucinations too? Because she could clearly feel Owen's warm touch on her elbow, even through all the layers of clothing. Maybe, she was hallucinating about Owen touching her too. She didn't know. It had been a fairly long time since one of her hallucinations, and none of them had ever been about Owen.

Owen opened a door and pulled Meredith into an empty stairway.

"Meredith..." Owen murmured, staring at Meredith's horror-stricken face with soft eyes, his hand still gripping her elbow. "You are alive...You...You don't know how happy I am to see you."

Owen's statement caused Meredith to snap out of her daze. She looked down at Owen's hand on her elbow and then looked back to Owen's face. "Owen, you...No, it can't be...I must be hallucinating again," she whispered to herself, studying Owen's facial features carefully.

"What?" Owen asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Owen...You are dead," Meredith said with determination in her voice. "You are dead and dead people don't come back from the dead. You need to leave my head and go away to heaven or whatever..."

Owen knitted his eyebrows together, trying to make head or tail of Meredith's statements. "Meredith," he said calmly, "I am not dead. I'm alive and I'm standing in front of you. So are you. You are not...You are not dead and neither am I. You are not hallucinating."

Meredith blinked a few times, staring at Owen wordlessly. And then, all of a sudden, she raised her hand to her elbow and pinched Owen's hand that was gripping it, hard.

"Oww!" Owen winced, pulling his hand back from her. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his hand.

"You can feel," Meredith stated, as if she was making a new discovery. "You can..." she trailed off and looking down to her own hand, she pinched her skin as hard as she could. Moaning softly in pain, she looked back up to see Owen still standing there.

"You – You are not going away," Meredith said, clapping her hands to her mouth. "You are not going away," she repeated, shaking her head.

"Meredith, are you alright? What are you saying?"

"When I hallucinate, I usually pinch myself or something to snap out of it, and then everything goes away. But, you...you can feel my pinch and I can feel your touch and...My point is, I pinched myself and you are not going away," Meredith said in a muffled voice, her hands covering her mouth.

"Well, that's because you are not hallucinating. I am alive, Meredith," Owen said, placing his hands on her arms. "I am not dead."

Meredith stared at Owen for a minute before suddenly flinging her arms around his neck. Owen was taken aback by the sudden movement, but he hugged her back presently.

"You are alive," Meredith whispered, tears rushing to her eyes. "You are alive," she reiterated, the tears rolling out of her eyes and slipping down her cheeks. "You are alive."

"I am," Owen said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Oh my God, I...I can't believe that...I thought you were dead...I thought you were...and now you are...You are alive. Owen, I – I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. I thought I was never going to see you again," Meredith rambled, not having a care in the world. Owen was alive. Owen Hunt, a person she had thought to be dead for the last six years of her life, was alive and well and hugging her at the moment. Meredith couldn't keep her tears or her rambling at bay anymore.

"So did I, Meredith...So did I," Owen said as Meredith pulled back from him.

"You – I – but how?" Meredith asked amidst her silent tears. "I thought there were no survivors."

"I –"Owen started to say, but Meredith cut in.

"You know what? It doesn't matter," Meredith said, "You are alive and that's all that matters. Owen...You don't know how good it feels to see you again. I never thought I'd say this to you, but I...I missed you."

Owen gave her a soft smile as he enveloped her in his arms once again. "Oh Meredith...I missed you too," he murmured, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Hmmm..." Meredith sighed, unable to believe her luck. She had so many questions – so many unanswered questions, but all of them could wait. She had set foot inside Seattle Grace Hospital that morning in the hope of starting her life afresh, and see her luck. She had stumbled into a person from her past – a person she had thought to be dead – first thing in the morning. But, at the moment, Meredith didn't regret seeing Owen again. She was ecstatic to see him again. He had been an important part of her past, and seeing him again when she hadn't even expected to do so, felt good. It felt incredibly good and maybe due to that reason, Meredith's tears just wouldn't stop flowing.

"How have you been?" Owen asked as he pulled back from the hug. "And what are you doing here? I thought you were...But, even if I hadn't thought that you were dead, I would have least expected to see you here, of all places," Owen remarked, taking notice of Meredith's light blue scrubs and white lab coat for the first time since he had laid eyes on her a few minutes ago.

"I have been..." Meredith paused, not knowing what to say. She had been miserable and unhappy and she had been suffering for the last few years, but Owen didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know anything about how she had ploughed on for the last six years. "I'm fine now," Meredith said with a soft sigh. "The first few years were...difficult, but I have learnt how to cope," she said with a firm nod. "And I am an intern here. It's my first day at work. How have you been?"

"Same," Owen said, looking away. "Still coping, but better than what I used to be during the first few years...And wow, an intern? You went to med school? I thought you said you'd never do that," Owen finished with a small laugh.

Meredith chuckled bitterly. "I never thought I'd do that either, but I did. Guess circumstances and time change people...So, you work here as a trauma surgeon now?"

"I do," Owen rejoined with a nod. "That makes me your boss. Wow, I am your boss now. Never thought that would happen...But then again, I never thought that..." Owen trailed off. He didn't need to finish his sentence in order for Meredith to understand.

The twosome lapsed into silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Meredith spoke up again. "I still can't believe all this. It feels so...surreal," she said, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"It does," Owen rejoined.

"By the way, I'm on your service today, boss," Meredith said with a wan smile.

"Please don't call me that," Owen said, shaking his head. "And it's good that you are on my service. Gives us time to catch up," he said with a smile of his own. "Come on, let's go now. Otherwise, people will think that I'm giving you special treatment due to our history."

Meredith sighed and followed Owen outside. "As far as my experience goes, people will think that irrespective of anything else," she said, "So, no one can know that we know each other from before, okay? I'm starting afresh, Owen. I don't want my other bosses or my colleagues to think that I'm getting special treatment from you."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Grey," Owen said with a wink, causing Meredith to laugh.

"You will never change, will you?"

"Nope." Owen shook his head as the duo walked down the corridor towards the elevator.

* * *

Derek Shepherd collapsed on the top bunk in the on-call room, utterly and thoroughly exhausted from the day's work. He had been on-call the previous night too and so far, his day had been long and boring. His intern, O'Malley, was most probably the most clueless intern in the history of interns. Derek knew that new interns were supposed to be a little clueless and nervous on their first day of work and so, he had tried his damndest best to stay patient and calm with his intern. But, O'Malley was making it impossible for him to stay cool and calm, with his stupid questions and gabbling and...Derek was beat-up and he just wanted to sleep at the moment, before O'Malley hunted him down and bugged him with his stupid questions again.

As Derek lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his mind automatically went back to the green-eyed blonde he had met in the church on Christmas. Ever since he had met that feisty and lippy blonde, he had been unable to take his mind off of her for some weird reason. She had been unbelievably rude to him on the very first meeting, saying to his face that she didn't like him, and yet, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't stop thinking about her cat-like grey-green eyes, her blonde tresses and the look of sheer sadness and despair on her beautiful face. She had been sad – she had been desolate as she had sat in the church, and Derek couldn't help but wonder why. He knew he shouldn't be wondering why some random blonde stranger had been sad, but the look in her green eyes...It had been heart-rending and for some reason, Derek felt impossibly sympathetic towards the beautiful stranger. He wondered if he'd ever see the blonde again, and if he'd ever get to know why she had been so doleful. Probably not. What were the odds of meeting that beautiful, rude girl again? Slim to none. So, he should stop thinking about her now and go to sleep.

Derek's eyelids started to droop, and slowly, he fell into a deep slumber, with the image of a certain green-eyed, desolate-looking blonde in his mind.

* * *

Derek's deep, peaceful slumber was disrupted by a rather loud whimpering sound. His eyelids flickered and he groaned and buried his face in his pillow, trying to ignore the sound. But, the sound not only persisted, but also grew louder. Derek groaned in a low voice and opened his eyes, mentally cussing whoever was disturbing his nap. Rubbing his eyes with his hand, he heard the soft, whimpering sound again and sat up on the bed. Looking around to find the source of the sound in his sleepy haze, he heard a pained moan right from underneath him. The source of the sound was occupying the lower bunk of the bunk bed. Fully awake by now, Derek slowly climbed down from the bed and squinted his eyes to see who was lying in the lower bunk.

His eyes widened when he saw the face of the person lying in the bed. The girl in the church! She was lying supine on the small on-call room bed, her eyes closed and her fists balling up the sheets. She was whimpering softly as she slept and rivulets of tears were streaming down her face.

"No...no...Please, I...no..." she mumbled incoherently in her sleep, writhing in the bed as if she were in pain.

She was having a nightmare. That much was pretty patent to Derek as he stood by the side of the bed, watching the girl twist and turn in the bed as she emitted pained moans and whimpers. And as shocked as he was to see the girl from the church there, in the on-call room of the hospital he worked in, he knew he couldn't just stand there and watch her stricken face. He had to do something.

Damn it, Derek Shepherd. You are a neurosurgeon. You should know what to do to help the girl, Derek thought to himself. He should probably wake her up. Yes. That was it. He had to wake her up and scotch whatever horrible dream she was having. But...But, he hardly knew the girl.

So what, Derek? You just have to shake her a bit and wake her up. You don't have to go and marry her, Derek's inner voice said. And it was right. He just had to shake the girl and wake her up from her sleep. He could do that. He should do that. He was a surgeon, and before that, he was a human being. He had to help the girl and put her out of her misery.

And so, Derek hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed, being careful to sit as far from the girl's lying form as possible, and reached out tentatively to touch the girl's shoulder. His hand stopped midway as Derek hesitated once more, but another pained moan from the girl scotched Derek's hesitation once and for all. He touched the girl's shoulder and shook her gently. "Wake up," he said in such a low voice that it was impossible for any human being to hear him, let alone a sleeping one.

Gathering his wits, Derek shook the girl's shoulder a little more persistently and said in a stronger, louder voice, "Wake up. Wake up."

The girl stopped writhing and all of a sudden, she clutched Derek's hand with all her might. Her eyes flew open and she sat up straight with lightning bolt speed, emitting a loud scream.

"NO!" the girl cried out, clutching Derek's hand on her shoulder with her own, her nails digging into his skin.

Derek reacted spontaneously, climbing into the bed and draping an arm around her trembling shoulders.

"Shh, shh...It's ok, it's ok. You are ok, you are ok," Derek whispered to her as the girl sobbed loudly, not letting go of his hand.

"I – I..." The girl gasped as tears streamed down her face and sobs wracked her fragile body.

"It's ok...It was just a dream...You are ok," Derek whispered again, trying to free his hand from her death grip.

The girl shook her head and sobbed, leaning into him slowly. Derek tightened his arm around her as he murmured, "Do you want some water?"

The girl nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. Derek tried to withdraw his hand from her vice-like grip, but she refused to let go.

"Uh – um – You need to leave my hand so that I can get you water," Derek pointed out, his arm still wrapped around her.

The girl stopped sobbing midway, and her grey-green eyes snapped up to his. Before Derek could even realize what was happening, the girl pulled back from him and shoved him hard with both her hands and Derek fell out of the bed and landed on the floor square on his butt.

"Goddamnit!" Derek cussed loudly, wincing at the pain that shot through his butt to his hip.

"You?! What the hell are you doing here?!" the girl shouted.

"I work here," Derek murmured, rubbing his hip. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I work here too," the girl replied, her eyes wide with shock.

"Since when? I have never seen you here before," Derek said, not getting up from the floor.

"I'm one of the new interns. It's my first day of work," the girl croaked out.

Derek stood up from the floor, still rubbing his ass as he noticed the girl's light blue scrubs for the first time. "Well, I'm the head of neurosurgery...And thanks for breaking my hip," he said, wincing once more.

"You are the head..." the girl whispered, looking panic-stricken. "Oh, I...I am so sorry. I didn't mean to push you, but I – I...It's your fault!"

"What? It's my fault?!" Derek said. "How is it my fault?"

"What the hell do you think you were doing, climbing into bed with me? Were you...Oh my God, were you trying to...come on to me?" the girl asked, her mouth falling open.

"Whaaaat?! No!" Derek exclaimed loudly. "No, I wasn't...God, no!"

"Then why did you climb into my bed?"

"Okay, first of all, this is not _your_ bed," Derek emphasized. "This is a communal bed. And second of all, I didn't climb into bed with you. I was just trying to help –"

"Oh, right," the girl said with a roll of her eyes. "You were trying to help me. Who ever said that I needed your help?"

Derek stared at the blonde, agape. This was why people didn't help other people these days. He had tried to help the girl, and she was accusing him of trying to molest her instead? What had happened to the world?

"Hey, listen to me. I wasn't trying to rape you or anything, okay? And besides, don't you think you should talk to your boss a little more politely?" Derek asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

The blonde laughed sarcastically. "Please, don't pull that 'I'm your boss' card with me. Just because you're my boss doesn't mean that you can get away with trying to come on to me. I know guys like you very well," she said bitterly.

Derek couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. How could someone be so damn rude and ungrateful? "For the last time, I wasn't trying to come on to you. I was trying to comfort you. You really don't have any manners, do you? When you were rude to me on Christmas, I just thought that you were having a bad day. But no, you just break all records of being impudent and ungrateful," Derek said, shaking his head.

The girl climbed out of the bed and stood in front of him. Poking his chest with her index finger, she said, "I don't need your comforting. Think whatever you want to think. But, if you ever climb into bed with me again or try to come on to me, I swear you'll lose all your precious family jewels. Do you understand?"

"But, I wasn't –"Derek tried to say, but he wasn't given the chance to speak.

"You better understand," the girl said in a baleful voice before turning around and storming away, slamming the on-call room behind her, leaving a bewildered and shocked Derek in her wake.

* * *

Meredith walked out of the on-call room, the door shutting with a bang behind her. She pressed her palms to her cheeks and started to walk down the hallway in long strides. She needed to hide somewhere. She needed to hide somewhere where she could cry out in peace – where no one would disturb her. She remembered the nightmare vividly, the images fresh in her mind, as if it had all happened yesterday. She needed a secluded place to fall apart.

It took everything in her not to fall apart right there, in the middle of the hallway. She wiped her cheeks with back of her hand and tried to regain her composure. Get a grip on yourself, Meredith. You can't sit down and cry in the middle of the hallway. Get ahold of yourself, she told herself as her legs moved in as long strides as possible.

She stopped in front of the door of a supply closet and gripped the doorknob with her hand. After her first surgery with Owen, she had come to that very supply closet to grab some materials. She knew it was a good, secluded place to hide. Pushing the door open, Meredith walked inside the supply closet and shut the door behind her. It was then that she allowed herself to break down into loud sobs. She sobbed and sobbed, not bothering to cover her mouth with her hand as she cried. She slid down the wall of the closet and slumped on the floor, recalling the nightmare she had just had.

"Are you okay?"

Meredith stopped mid-sob, her face freezing. She hadn't realized that she wasn't alone in the supply closet. Shit. Her eyes snapped up and locked onto a pair of deep blue orbs. A familiar pair of deep blue orbs.

Meredith gasped. The guy in the church! He had the same eyes! But, as Meredith's eyes took in the rest of the person's form, she discovered that it was not the guy from the church. In fact, the person was not a guy at all. The person was a girl – a young, short brunette with the same eyes as the guy in the church. Meredith let out a partially relieved sigh as she stared at the brunette's face. For a minute there, she had thought that the guy had followed her from the on-call room to the supply closet.

"I – I am sorry," the brunette said in a soft voice, "That was a stupid question. You are clearly not okay. What's wrong?"

Meredith stared like a fool at the brunette's face. She didn't know what to say. The brunette had just caught her sobbing loudly and from the looks of it, she worked in the hospital. But...Meredith didn't even know the girl. How could she tell the girl what was wrong?

"I don't know you," Meredith blurted out, unable to come up with a better, more tactful answer.

A sheepish expression came over the brunette's face. "Uh...You're right. You don't know me. I don't know you. We are strangers to each other. I get it," she said, "So, let me introduce myself. I'm Amelia. My friends and family call me Amy, so you can call me Amy too. I'm a second year resident here."

Meredith stared at Amelia, dumbfounded. For a few minutes, Meredith just blinked and stared at Amelia. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she croaked out, "I'm Meredith. I'm one of the new interns."

A look of realization spread over Amelia's face. "Oh," she said, "You are an intern. Welcome to Seattle Grace Hospital. So, Meredith, why are you crying? You can talk to me, I don't bite." Amelia gave Meredith a tender smile as she took a few steps towards Meredith.

Meredith was at a loss for words. She didn't want to talk. She just wanted to be alone and cry out. And she definitely didn't want to talk to a complete stranger who, by the looks of it, had lost her marbles. But, she didn't just want to tell Amelia to shove off either. Something about Amelia was strangely comforting.

When Meredith kept mum, Amelia looked down and shook her head. "I...uh...I am sorry, Meredith. I am a stranger to you, and you clearly don't want to talk to a stranger. I am sorry. I didn't mean to pry or intrude or anything. I just thought that...But, never mind. I'll leave you alone. And I swear I won't blab to anyone about what I saw inside this supply closet. I know what you must be thinking of me – that I am a pushy busybody or something like that, but I'm not. I just wanted to help. And they say that sometimes, talking to a stranger can be more comforting than talking to someone you know. But, I am really sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I'm not a nosy little –"

"I had a dream," Meredith chimed in, causing Amelia to stop mid-ramble. For the first time in her life, Meredith had found a person who rambled just like she did. So, Meredith couldn't hold back anymore. Besides, Amelia really didn't look like one of those blabbermouths who went and spread gossip. Amelia looked...nice and friendly. Not that Meredith wanted to make friends or anything. "I had a horrible dream," Meredith said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh, Meredith..."Amelia said, walking up to her and crouching down in front of her.

"It was a really really horrible dream, about a really horrible thing," Meredith continued, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Which is kind of clear, because a horrible dream means that it is about something horrible, but you know what I mean? The dream...it was a nightmare. It – It reminded me of something horrendous from my past...It was...I don't want to remember my past, but the nightmare – it reminded of that horrific thing and I..." Meredith couldn't continue anymore as she broke down into sobs once more.

As Meredith sobbed, she half expected Amelia to say something like "I'm sorry" or "It'll be alright" or something like that. Because, that's what people usually said. People who didn't understand a damn thing about what Meredith was going through. But, Amelia didn't say any of those things. In fact, she didn't say anything at all. And before Meredith could realize what was happening, Amelia had wrapped her arms around Meredith and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Meredith was shocked, to say the least. No one had ever hugged her like that, not even her closest friends, so forget about complete strangers. She gasped softly as Amelia hugged her, her own arms gripping her thighs. She hesitated a minute, at a loss for what to do as she had never dealt with a situation like that. Everything about Amelia and the situation was singular, but after a few minutes of hesitation, Meredith wrapped her own arms around Amelia, accepting the strange but oddly soothing hug.

Meredith didn't know how long Amelia kept her arms around her, but by the time Amelia was pulling back, Meredith felt much better than she had been feeling previously. Not fully okay, but she was getting there.

"Better?" Amelia asked, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Much better," Meredith said with a nod, managing to give Amelia a wan smile. "Thank you, Amy. Thank you for...listening to me, the hug and...everything. Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Amelia said with a shake of her head. "My mom and my brother always say that bear hugs make people feel better. I grew up getting bear hugs, so I'm basically a closet hugger. And I was just doing my job, as a human being, a surgeon...and a friend."

Meredith smiled again, her smile much brighter this time. "Hmmm...You are nice, Amy. A very good human being, and an excellent friend," she said, her eyes twinkling.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope I made up for the month-long delay with the update. Leave me a review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who commiserated with me during my troubled time. Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough for being there with me in my sorrow. All your messages and reviews gave me the strength to stand back up again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, guys! You people caring for me means so much to me, and you don't know how much. Thank you!**

 **Now that I have started to return to normalcy, I want to thank all you guys with this brand new chapter. You sympathised with me in a time of utter grief – the best I can do is repay you by writing. Without further ado,**

* * *

 _...the playful conversation starts_

 _Counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy..._

Meredith walked away from the radiology department with the scans of Katie Bryce in her hands. It was her second day at work, and it was already turning out to be insanely hellish. Firstly, she was on douchebag Dr. Derek Shepherd's service. The head of neuro who was also a douchebag whom she hated with a passion. Her previous encounter with him had only resulted in augmenting her dislike for him, and so, it was awkward as hell for both him and her to work together. They had barely exchanged two words so far, and Meredith was thankful that he was not treating her like crap after their last encounter. Maybe he wasn't that big a douchebag.

Secondly, Meredith's patient – fifteen year old Katie Bryce. Katie was a pain in the ass. It was as simple as that. Meredith presently disliked Katie more than she disliked Dr. Douchebag Shepherd, if that was possible. Katie had fried Meredith's brain earlier, with incessant talks of the beauty pageant that she was missing. All Meredith had heard in the last few hours were beauty pageants and rhythmic gymnastics. And Meredith didn't even have an idea what the latter was. And as if that wasn't enough to annoy Meredith, Katie had faked a seizure earlier because she wanted Meredith to call someone. In short, the fifteen year old girl was unbearably pesky.

Working with a doctor she disliked to the utmost and working on a patient she was starting to hate was enough to drive Meredith nuts. Her heart ached with longing for the days of her past, when things weren't this difficult and crazy. But, nostalgia wasn't enough to make her forget her indelible past. No matter how much she hated Katie and Dr. Douchebag Shepherd, her present was definitely far better than her past.

A beeping sound stirred Meredith out of her thoughts. Meredith looked down at her pager clipped to her waist and saw a 911 from Katie. Another fake 911. Meredith huffed in annoyance and pootled down the hallway. She had answered the last 911 by running like a marathon runner through the hospital. And then she had entered Katie's room to see that she was peachy and **bored.** Nope, definitely no running this time.

As Meredith neared Katie's room, her eyes alighted on people rushing inside the room. Why would people be rushing inside Katie's room if it was a fake 911? Meredith's legs sped up and she entered Katie's room as fast as she could.

Meredith's eyes alighted on Katie, lying on the bed and convulsing. Katie was having seizures, for real this time.

"Dr. Grey, she is seizing!" a nurse spoke up from somewhere, but Meredith stood frozen, her eyes glued to Katie's convulsing form.

"Dr. Grey, what should we do?" the same nurse, or maybe a different one this time, asked Meredith.

Meredith's brain was frozen. The nurse was asking her what they should do. What should they do, indeed? Meredith had no idea. She didn't know what to do. All the years of rigorous training at med school seemed to have gone to waste at that moment.

"Dr. Grey?" someone asked again, causing Meredith to shake out of her reverie.

"Have you paged Dr. Bailey and Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked as she moved closer to Katie's bed.

"Yes."

"Well, page them again," Meredith commanded loudly and then added, "Push another dose of diazepam."

"We already did," the nurse answered.

Meredith was stumped. Diazepam was in, but Katie was still seizing. What was she ought to do? She didn't get to ponder on that question for long as Katie's body stilled, because of asystole.

"Give me the paddles," Meredith barked. She couldn't let Katie go under right in front of her eyes. Yes, she had thought earlier that she could Kevorkian Katie with her bare hands if she hadn't taken the Hippocratic Oath, but that didn't mean that she would actually let Katie die. No, she wasn't going to let that happen, at any cost.

"Charge to two hundred! Clear!" Meredith shouted. Katie's body received the shock, but the monitor still displayed flatline.

"Charge to three hundred," Meredith shouted, but got nothing.

"Nothing," the nurse said from behind.

"Charge again," Meredith said.

"But –"the nurse started to say.

"No buts. I said charge again," Meredith barked authoritatively. "Clear!" Meredith yelled, and this time, the heart monitor picked up V-fib. Meredith breathed out loudly in relief and the paddles dropped from her hands.

"What the heck is going on here?" Dr. Douchebag Shepherd's voice reverberated in the room, and Meredith's moment of relief dissipated in a split second.

Someone, presumably Dr. Douchebag, caught Meredith's elbow roughly and moved her out of the way. He began examining Katie without throwing Meredith a second glance.

Meredith pondered whether she should just walk out of the room, but before her brain could launch another silent monologue, Dr. Douchebag Shepherd cut a sharp glare her way.

"What do you think you were doing?" he asked, his voice gruff and loud.

Meredith opened her mouth to answer, but Dr. Douchebag didn't give her the opportunity to utter a single syllable.

"Leave," he said in a low but fierce voice.

For some reason, Meredith didn't move from her position.

"I said, leave!" Dr. Douchebag Shepherd bellowed like an angry ox this time, and tears sprang to Meredith's eyes. She blinked a couple of times and then moved towards the door. She ran into Bailey as she was exiting the room, but she tuned out Bailey's lecture and continued to walk down the corridor. She made her way to the hall downstairs and aimed for the exit of the hospital. She barely noticed Amelia standing at the nurses station out of the corner of her eye, and continued to move towards the exit.

Coming out of the lofty hospital building, Meredith walked like a zombie towards a tree and threw up the contents of her stomach under it. She leant against the tree for a few minutes, holding her stomach with her hands, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and proceeded to walk back inside the hospital.

"Meredith, are you okay?" Amelia asked as Meredith bumped into her on her way back.

Meredith stared at Amelia for a minute before saying, "I am fine. Not a word to anyone about what you saw." And with that, Meredith brushed past Amelia and walked inside the hospital.

* * *

Meredith sat on the floor of the hospital library with books strewn all around her. Half an hour ago, Dr. Douchebag Shepherd had announced Katie's case history to all the interns and had told them to research. He had said that the first intern to diagnose Katie's condition correctly would be allowed to scrub in on Katie's surgery.

Now, after Dr. Douchebag Shepherd's humiliating behaviour towards her about an hour ago, Meredith had no wish to spend any more time with Dr. Douchebag. None whatsoever. Meredith could even spend the rest of her life without having to see Dr. Douchebag's pretty little face. But, Meredith was actually worried about Katie now. She was determined to find out what was wrong with Katie and save the girl's life. Even if that meant spending more time with Dr. Douchebag in close quarters.

And if Meredith's intuition was right, then Meredith had done it. She had a diagnosis and her intuition was telling her that she was on the right track.

Snapping the book she was reading shut, Meredith stood up and headed to find Dr. Douchebag Shepherd. She scouted around for him everywhere in the hospital, and she was about to give up when she saw him slipping inside an elevator.

"Dr. Douche – Dr. Shepherd!" Meredith exclaimed, breaking into a run and sliding her hand between the closing doors of the elevator at the last moment.

"Dr. Grey," Dr. Douchebag Shepherd said in a gruff voice as he typed on his cell phone.

Meredith entered the elevator and held the door. "Katie competes in beauty pageants," she said breathlessly.

"I know," Dr. Douchebag said with a wry, sarcastic smile, "We have to save her life anyway."

"Her CT, CBC and MRI scans are clean. But, what if she has an aneurysm anyway?" Meredith continued in spite of the snarky answer.

"With no indicators whatsoever?" Dr. Douchebag asked in a mocking tone.

"Well, she fell a couple of weeks ago. She twisted her ankle and fell. It wasn't mentioned in her history because it was negligible. But, what if the aneurysm burst anyway when she fell?" Meredith said with a touch of defiance in her voice.

"Dr. Grey," Dr. Douchebag said, "Do you know what the chances of that happening are? One in a million, literally. Please don't waste my and your time with such theories. If you have a more feasible theory next time, come and find me. Otherwise, don't bother." Dr. Douchebag finished in a caustic voice.

Meredith's eyes narrowed at his indifferent and rude attitude and she stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "Dr. Shepherd, is my theory unfeasible to you because of what happened in the on-call room yesterday? Because, if it is, then I'd like to tell you that a patient's life is at stake here and –"

"Excuse me," Dr. Shepherd said sharply, "Don't you dare accuse me of unprofessionalism! You are the one who is being unprofessional. You just cross all limits of rudeness, don't you? You think I don't know that a patient's life is at stake here? I have been in this profession longer than you. I care about my patients more than you ever could. Your theory is improbable, do you understand? And it's not because of your impossibly rude behaviour in the on-call room yesterday. I would have said what I just said to you to any other intern. Is that clear?"

Meredith was thinking of apologizing to him for her behaviour the previous day. Yes, she was actually thinking of apologizing to him and admitting that she might have overreacted because she had been upset. But, after his rejoinder, Meredith only said, "Crystal," through gritted teeth and stormed out of the elevator.

* * *

"The head of neuro is a huge insufferable asshole," Meredith said as she slammed her lunch tray down on the table and plopped down in the chair.

Amelia started to cough as soon as the words were out of Meredith's mouth.

"Are you alright? Do you want some water?" Meredith said, holding out her water bottle to Amelia.

"No, no, I'm alright," Amelia said, letting out another cough. "I just...I used to think that I was the only person in this hospital to think that way about him."

"Oh no, you are definitely not the only one," Meredith said, excited on having found someone whose wavelength matched with hers. "I was calling him Dr. Douchebag Shepherd until a few hours ago, but after the way he behaved with me in the elevator, he's definitely an ass. Dr. Asshole Shepherd. Or better yet, Dr. McAss! How's that sound?" Meredith asked, shoving a forkful of salad into her mouth.

"Nice," Amelia answered with a smile. "You are good with, um, calling people names."

"You should know that I don't usually call people names. Dr. McAss might be the first person! He is just so unbearably annoying and egotistic that –"

"Heismybrother!" Amelia blurted out, chewing on her food as fast as she could.

"What?" Meredith asked, "What did you just say? I couldn't understand..."

"I said that..." Amelia paused and then said slowly, "He is my brother."

Meredith's eyes widened with horror and her mouth fell open. She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at Amelia, turning pale as a ghost.

"Don't worry," Amelia said quickly, "I call him more terrible names than that most of the time. He is too stubborn and arrogant for his own good."

Relief washed over Meredith's face but she still stared at Amelia silently.

"Mer, it's okay, really. If you want to rant about my brother to anyone, I'm the best person for doing so. Sibling rivalry or something like that..."

"Okay," Meredith murmured, looking down at her food and cussing herself mentally for her big mouth. "He is your elder brother, I assume?"

"Yes. And my only brother too. I have three elder sisters too," Amelia said casually.

"You have four siblings?!" Meredith asked in a surprised voice. "Wow, that's just, wow...Five children. Wow..."

"It's terrible to have four siblings, if you ask me. And it's even more terrible when you are the youngest among them. Your siblings get to have this unfair...control over you. They get to be your bosses, all the time. It's annoying as hell, but I guess I have grown used to it," Amelia said with a shrug.

"I am an only child, so I have no idea what it feels like to have a sibling," Meredith said, still stunned.

"It's not that terrible all the time. Sometimes, it can be fun too. And having a brother definitely helped in our case. Someone needed to be the man of the house..."Amelia said with a sigh.

"What about your dad? Divorced?"

"No. He died of cancer when I was four."

"Oh," Meredith said, clapping her hand to her mouth. Stupid, stupid, stupid big mouth. "I am so sorry," she said, touching Amelia's hand sympathetically.

"It's okay. It's been a long while," Amelia said with a smile that looked forced.

"My parents are..." Meredith paused. "My parents fell out of love with each other when I was five, but they never got divorced so that I could have the love of both my parents. Big mistake, because they forgot that in order for the child to be happy, the couple needs to be happy too. They were always engaged in a – a cold war with each other. My dad also had an extramarital affair that mom was aware of. Sometimes, my dad's girlfriend came to live with us and it was awkward and tensed as hell. I hate ménages-à-trois. Plus, my mom was a hardcore workaholic, so you can imagine how loved I was..."Meredith finished, purposely leaving out her mother's name. She was already hated by an attending and she was associating with a resident. She didn't need her fellow interns to know that she was royally inbred too.

"Oh, Mer, I am so sorry you spent your childhood like that," Amelia said. "I didn't have a dad, but I had a very loving mom, and four very annoying but equally loving siblings. I can't imagine what you must have gone through...Was the nightmare you had related to your family issues?"

Meredith's face froze. The fork dropped out of her hand.

"Mer?"

"Uh – um – Can we not talk about that nightmare like ever?" Meredith said, turning to Amelia. "It's just...I don't like to talk about it."

"Oh, OK," Amelia said. "Sorry if I was prying."

"No, no, it's fine," Meredith said, "I just don't like to talk about it. That's all."

* * *

"I have this hospital's rudest intern on my service today," Derek said to Owen as he took a chair beside him.

"Whoa, you sound pissed," Owen murmured through a mouthful of food.

"Pissed? I'm not pissed. I'm livid! I am a ball of blazing fire right now. I swear I could break a few things," Derek said, shaking his head.

"Who is this hospital's rudest intern?" Owen queried.

"Don't even ask me her name. I hate her. I hate hate hate her. Not only is she completely clueless like all interns are supposed to be, but also impossibly rude. She might be the rudest person in the world," Derek said.

"Why? What did she say to you?" Owen asked.

"Ask me what she didn't say to me. Today is the second day of her work, and she has already accused me of being a molester, a lousy and unprofessional surgeon and whatnot. I can't tolerate her for a split second. Would you like to trade interns?" Derek asked desperately.

Owen laughed. "She sounds like she is a handful...Derek, I know you hate your intern, but I am not sure trading interns is hospital policy."

Derek sighed defeatedly and went back to his lunch. Owen patted his shoulder sympathetically and said, "Derek, you are her boss, man. If she is insulting you, you should know how to retaliate. Interns are grunts anyway."

"I wish I knew how to retaliate," Derek said with another sigh. "She is just so...Her face...If you see her face, you'll think that she is the most innocent creature on Earth. But, once her mouth opens, all the innocence from her face is gone. She changes colour like a chameleon." It was true. Derek wanted to retaliate when Grey insulted him, but one look at her face and mesmerizing green eyes took away all his inner strength and made him weak in the knees. Grey was a devil with the face of an angel.

"Aw, poor you," Owen said sarcastically.

"Shut up! You are my friend. You are supposed to sympathise with me."

"I can't believe that a mouthy, measly intern has reduced the great Derek Shepherd to a defeated mess," Owen said.

"Believe it...Ugh, I can't wait for this day to be over already, so that I never have to deal with this intern again," Derek said, pouring ketchup on his food.

* * *

"Derek!"

Derek turned around to see his sister, Amelia jogging towards him.

"Hey, Amy," he said as she neared him, "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Amelia said breathlessly, "Or rather, someone."

Derek knitted his eyebrows together and waited for his sister to continue.

"I think you should give your intern's intuition a chance and check your patient for an aneurysm."

Derek's mouth fell open. "You – How do you know my stupid intern and her theory?" he asked in disbelief.

"Her name is Meredith and she is not stupid. We are friends. Well, sort of," Amelia murmured.

"How is an intern your friend?" Derek asked, too shocked to digest the information. "And how on Earth is the rudest intern in the world your friend?"

"She is not rude," Amelia said, making a face. "How did you get the idea that she is rude?"

"Uh, well, she is rude to me all the time," Derek said with a roll of his eyes.

"Listen, bro, I don't know what happened between you and Meredith that led to you thinking that she is rude, but I know one thing. She might be right about Katie's aneurysm and so, you should put your ego and whatever aside and give Meredith a chance."

"Amelia, you don't even know the things Grey said to me!" Derek exclaimed. "And her theory is unfeasible! I can't believe my own sister is siding with my biggest enemy at the moment."

"I am not siding with anyone, Derek," Amelia said, rubbing her forehead. "I am just saying that it won't hurt you or your patient to give Meredith's diagnosis a chance. On the other hand, it might save your patient's life if Meredith is right."

"But, Amy –"Derek started to say but was cut off by his sister.

"I have to run now because I have a surgery to scrub in on, but give what I said a thought," Amelia said quickly and ran in the opposite direction, leaving a bewildered Derek in her wake.

* * *

Meredith walked down the hallway with a pile of charts in her arms. She was planning to hide in the supply closet for the rest of the day and write charts. She was done. She was done with researching about Katie's case and she was done with trying to make Dr. McAss believe her. Clearly, Dr. McAss's ego was larger than life and his bruised ego was stopping him from giving her hypothesis a chance.

Suddenly, someone caught Meredith's elbow from behind and whirled her around.

"What the f –"Meredith started to say but her face froze when she saw the person who had caught her arm.

"Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said through gritted teeth, "May I help you?"

"Yes. You can help me. Let's see if Katie is the one in a million," Dr. McAss said, and Meredith couldn't help the small smile that touched her lips.

* * *

Meredith watched from a distance as Dr. McAss performed the surgery in the OR. After taking Katie for a scan, they had found out that Meredith had been right indeed. Now, Meredith watched Dr. Shepherd perform the surgery on Katie from behind a bunch of residents and interns.

As Meredith watched, Dr. McAss lifted his face and turned his eyes towards Meredith. He gave a small nod, signalling her to come forward to observe.

Meredith walked past the bunch of residents hesitantly and slowly went and stood beside Dr. McAss. Looking into the microscope, Meredith's mouth fell slightly open behind her mask as she watched a brain up close for the first time.

As she watched the aneurysm with awe, she could feel a pair of eyes on her. She averted her gaze from the aneurysm and turned it towards Dr. McAss. Their eyes locked, green clashing with ocean-blue, and for a moment, Meredith felt light-headed. Her heart did a weird fluttery thing in her chest as she watched the corners of his eyes crinkle, his mask hiding the smile that she was sure was spread on his face. For a moment, as Dr. McAss's and Meredith's eyes met over Katie's open brain, Meredith felt that it was wrong to call him Dr. McAss or Dr. Douchebag anymore.

* * *

Derek walked out of the scrub room with a chart in his hand after scrubbing out of Katie's surgery. The surgery was successful, and Katie was completely healthy now. As he walked out, he noticed Dr. Grey sitting on one of the chairs outside the scrub room.

"Dr. Grey," he said as he approached the nurses station, "Don't you have to go home?"

"Yeah," Grey said with a smile creasing her face, her eyes sparkling and having a faraway look. "That...inside the OR...That was amazing," she said, her captivating grey-green eyes locking onto his.

"Hmmmm..." Derek hummed, his face breaking into a grin too.

"You practice on cadavers. You observe. And you think you know what you're gonna feel like standing over that table, but...that was such a high. I don't know why anybody does drugs," Grey said, her smile becoming wider.

Derek stared into the two mesmerizing green pools for a minute before murmuring, "Yeah." He didn't know why, but whenever he looked into Meredith's eyes, he forgot all her impudence and cheekiness and felt butterflies in his stomach. Ok, that was not a very manly thing to say, but it was the truth. He felt butterflies in his stomach and his heart sped up for some unknown reason. No matter how much he hated Grey at the moment, he loved her eyes. He just loved them.

"So...You still didn't congratulate me on being right about Katie's condition," Grey said with an impish smirk, the cherubic smile gone from her face.

Derek rolled his eyes. The moment was gone. It was gone as fast as it had arrived. Sighing, he murmured, "Congratulations, Dr. Grey, on being right about Katie's aneurysm. Congratulations on saving a life on your second day with very little training. That good for you?"

"Nope. You should totally buy me a drink or something so that I can gloat properly. So that I can rub it in your face that I was right and you were wrong. Over a drink," Grey said, the smirk plastered on her face, her eyes having a mischievous glint.

"You want me to buy you a drink?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. A congratulatory drink. Or a celebratory drink. Or a rub-it-in-your-face drink."

There it was again. The insolence, the impudence, the attitude. The attitude that Derek hated.

"Fine. I'm gonna buy you a drink. Meet me in the parking lot in fifteen," he said as he snapped the chart shut and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Grey called out, causing him to turn around. "You are seriously going to buy me a drink?"

"Yeah. You asked me to buy you a drink, so..."Derek said with a shrug.

"But – but, you do realize that I was kidding, right? I don't want you to actually buy me a drink. That was me gloating to you about the fact that I was right. I was rubbing it in your face that I was right. You don't actually have to buy me a drink," Grey rambled, and Derek smiled inwardly when he saw how flustered she was. Her cheeks had coloured slightly and there were beads of perspiration on her forehead. Looked like her plan of humiliating him had backfired. Oh, the fun he was going to have with her now...

"I didn't realize that it was your way of gloating, Dr. Grey. Now that I have given you my word, I have to buy you a drink. Meet me in the parking lot," he said.

"But, I – you – drink –"

"Dr. Grey, I don't bite, I swear. Scout's honour," he said with a smirk.

"Were you ever a scout?" Grey asked sceptically, quirking an eyebrow.

"I was an Eagle scout," Derek said and turned around to walk away.

"It will be only one drink!" Grey called out from behind, and Derek had to do his best not to smile.

Turning around with an innocent, unsuspecting face, he said, "Dr. Grey, it will be **only one drink**. I am not gonna buy you a whole champagne bottle to pop open. Nor am I going to buy you dinner. I don't like you, remember?" And with that, Derek sauntered away, leaving a flustered and blushing Meredith in his wake.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I incorporated a major portion of 01x01 in this chapter, but with my own spin on things. Some of Meredith's past was unveiled in this chapter, but I swear, it's not even the tip of the iceberg. I have bigger bombshells for you in the later chapters.**

 **For now, Dr. Douchebag, um, sorry, Derek is going to buy Meredith a drink and Meredith is fairly nervous about it! And she has every reason to! What will happen when MerDer and alcohol come together? Leave your conjectures and speculations in the box below!**

 **And yes, review, then maaaybe I'll write the next chapter... ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am so sorry for the huge delay, guys! I know y'all have been waiting patiently for an update, but studies and work have been keeping me really busy, so I went AWOL. Sorry! I'll not keep you from the long-awaited chapter anymore and just let you dive in!**

 **P.S. A BIG thank you to Lara for being my pre-reader for this story! I swear she is the best pre-reader ever! :)**

 **P.P.S. My friend, Karen, found these huge, ugly, hideous mistakes in this chapter! *sob* Makes me feel like the most terrible writer in the world :'( Anyway, I'm reposting this chapter for that reason. Sorry that you guys had to deal with these embarrassing mistakes :(**

* * *

 _...this night is sparkling, don't you let it go_

 _I am wonder-struck, blushing all the way home..._

Meredith entered the bar hesitantly with Dr. Shepherd in tow. She wrung her hands together nervously as she walked inside the warm room that was bursting at the seams. She was completely convinced that letting him buy her a drink was a bad idea. A really bad idea. Because she hated Dr. Shepherd. Or not so much now, because of that little moment during Katie's surgery, but still... Bottom line was that she hated Dr. Shepherd. And having drinks with him was an idea straight from hell. Why had she ever mentioned him buying her a drink in the first place? Stupid, stupid, stupid her.

"So...Dr. Grey, what would you like to have?" he asked as he hopped up on a barstool and spun around to face her.

"A shot of tequila. Neat," Meredith spoke softly, trying to avoid looking Dr. Shepherd in the eye. It was his eyes. His stupid, dreamy blue eyes. They made her brain go fuzzy and made her say things that she regretted. She was pretty sure she had been looking into his stupid blue eyes when she had asked him to buy her a drink. Big mistake. Rookie freaking mistake.

"Tequila?" Dr. Shepherd asked, raising his eyebrows. "You drink tequila?"

Meredith's eyes snapped up to meet Dr. Shepherd's. She narrowed her eyes at his expression of disbelief and said, "Why? Why is it so surprising? Can I not drink tequila? Is it because I'm a woman? Just because I'm a woman, I'm supposed to drink only champagne and wine and move around wearing those pesky gowns?"

"No!" he exclaimed rather loudly. "I didn't mean it in that way..." He sighed audibly and said, "Grey, why do you always take what I say or do in the wrong sense?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the things you say or do are wrong themselves," she said, averting her eyes from his gaze. He was doing it again. The stupid thing with his stupid eyes that made her do stupid things. She had to get ahold of herself.

She heard another sigh being expelled from him before he called out to the bartender.

"Hey Joe," she heard Dr. Shepherd say to the bartender.

"Hey doc. How are you?" the bartender rejoined.

"I'm good. Yourself?" Dr. Shepherd said.

"Doing pretty well," Joe said, "So, what do you want today?" Meredith noticed Joe eyeing her while saying that, and she purposely slid her barstool away from Dr. Shepherd.

"A shot of tequila, neat, and a double scotch single malt," Dr. Shepherd said.

"Will do," Joe replied and walked away from the counter to get their drinks.

Meredith and Derek sat in awkward silence as they waited for their drinks to arrive.

She fixed her gaze on a teeny spot on the counter and continued staring at it, not knowing what to say to her companion. Not that she was dying to talk to her companion, because she wasn't. It was just that it was awkward as hell, sitting there with Dr. Shepherd, without a single word being exchanged between them. The air was so thick with tension and awkwardness that you could slice it with a knife.

Dr. Shepherd harrumphed once, and Meredith fidgeted with the wristband of her watch, trying to come up with something to say to him. Something. Maybe a simple 'how are you doing' or 'what are your plans for the night?' At least something to scotch the unbearable awkwardness and deafening silence.

"Today's surgery was great," Meredith finally murmured. She wanted to smack herself. Who said that? Of course Katie's surgery was great. He already knew that. It was not breaking news. Why did she say that, of all the things she could have said? She was a moron. She hoped desperately that Dr. Shepherd had not heard her.

"Yeah, it was," he replied, and Meredith closed her eyes. Damn.

"It was...um...It was a great learning opportunity," she said, fumbling for words. "You are so great at what you do. It was a pleasure working with you." She had done it again. Stupid her. Of course he knew that he was great at what he did. He didn't become the head of neurosurgery just like that. She might hate him, but she had to admit that he was an incredibly talented surgeon.

"Thanks. It was a pleasure working with you too," Dr. Shepherd said, "After you complete your residency, I am sure you'll be quite a talented surgeon yourself."

Meredith looked up from the spot she had been staring at, and locked eyes with Dr. Shepherd, surprised. She felt her cheeks warm up and pink, and she mumbled a thank you amidst trying to control her blushing.

"No need to thank me. It's the truth. Very few interns can diagnose such an intricate case on their second day of work, with little to no knowledge of what they might be dealing with. You diagnosed Katie's condition when I couldn't. You've got the insight and intuition that you need to become a great surgeon," Dr. Shepherd said, looking Meredith straight in the eye. "Have you decided on a speciality yet?"

Meredith just shook her head, unable to say anything. She couldn't believe that she was hearing all those things from Dr. Shepherd, who hated her and whom she herself hated. It felt surreal. It felt...surprisingly nice.

Before she could mull over the conflicting emotions coursing through her at warp speed, Joe arrived with their drinks.

"Oh, thanks," Meredith said to Joe, breaking her gaze from Dr. Shepherd.

"No problem. Enjoy your drinks," Joe said with a genial smile and left the counter.

Meredith looked to Dr. Shepherd, unsure about what to do. Were they going to clink their glasses together, or should she start drinking?

Dr. Shepherd gave her a tiny smile and raised his glass. With smiling eyes, he said, "Here's to saving a life, working on a great case and working with you. And here's to you, Meredith Grey."

Meredith felt herself blush furiously as she raised her glass and clinked it with his. She had no idea how he knew her full name. She was pretty sure she had never told him what her first name was. And that was not what really mattered. What mattered was that he had just made a toast to her. He had just made a toast to her, and she had been calling him horrible names only a couple of hours ago.

Not wanting to say another thank you, not because she wasn't grateful, because she was, but because all she had said to him in the last couple of minutes was thank you, Meredith raised her glass to her lips and threw her head back, downing the shot in one gulp.

As her head came back up, she slammed the glass down on the table and turned to face Dr. Shepherd, only to find him staring at her. He was staring at her. Not in a creepy or gawking kind of way. But in a really weird way. A way that she couldn't describe in words, nor could she place her finger on it.

"What?" Meredith asked self-consciously, tugging at the hem of her blouse.

"Oh – um – uh – nothing," he said, looking away immediately. He turned his eyes to his drink and began to sip at it.

"Okay," Meredith said, even though she was fully convinced that it was not nothing. "So, that was the one drink that you promised to buy me. Um...I'll leave now..." she trailed off uncertainly, picking up her purse.

"Wow! I didn't know that one drink meant strictly one drink," Derek said with a chuckle as his eyes met hers. "Are you afraid to get drunk, Grey?"

"Excuse me?" she said sharply, narrowing her eyes.

"I asked if you're a lightweight. You know, if you can't hold your alcohol," Dr. Shepherd said with a sneer that made Meredith's blood boil in her veins.

"I know what a lightweight means, thank you," Meredith said through gritted teeth. "And no, Dr. Shepherd, I am not a lightweight. I bet I can hold my alcohol better than you," she said with a smirk.

It was his turn to narrow his eyes. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I think I can totally drink you under the table, anytime," Meredith said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin defiantly.

"Ohhhh...You would like to think so...But, boy are you wrong," Dr. Shepherd said.

"I am not wrong. I am seldom wrong. One would think you would know that after today," Meredith snarked back, alluding to her being right about Katie's case.

"Says the person who is fleeing from the bar like a bat out of hell because she is too afraid of getting drunk if she has more than one drink," Derek said with a full-blown laugh. "If you are really right, then stay here and prove it to me."

Anger – pure, blinding rage coursed through Meredith's veins as she heard Dr. Shepherd's derisive laughter. He had challenged her. There was no backing down now. One thing that Meredith Grey couldn't stand was being made fun of – of being mocked and flouted at.

"Fine," she said, hopping back on the barstool and slamming her purse down on the counter. "It's on."

"Fine," Dr. Shepherd said, motioning to Joe to come over.

"Perfect," Meredith said through her teeth as Joe made his way towards them.

* * *

"I don't like you," Meredith slurred as she shelled a peanut. "I don't like you at all, Dr. Shepherd."

"I don't like you either, Dr. Grey," Dr. Shepherd answered, and she could feel his eyes burning holes into her skin. But, she kept her eyes on the heap of peanuts that she had created. She had already had one too many drinks. She didn't need to look into his stupid, dreamy eyes to make her do something that she regretted. The room was already spinning as it was.

"That's great. We both don't like each other. Problem solved," Meredith mumbled, looking up at the ceiling and trying to ascertain whether it was arched or not.

"I would like to know why though," Derek slurred slightly as he downed another drink.

"Why what?" Meredith asked. Why was Dr. Shepherd speaking in circles? Why was everything going around in circles? Her head, Dr. Shepherd's words, the room...It was odd.

"Why you don't like me," he rejoined, spinning around to look at her again.

"Oh..." Meredith said. That was an easy question. Easier than adding two and two. "You want me to give you one reason? Because I have a list," she bit back with a small laugh.

"I want the list," Dr. Shepherd said.

"Okay..." Meredith said and bit her lower lip for a moment. "You are insufferable, cocksure, cocky, arrogant...Wait, I think the last three words I said mean more or less the same," she said, pausing.

"You have an extensive vocab," Derek said.

"Thank you," Meredith said, throwing her nose in the air. "Hmph...You are also obstinate, egoistic and...and...You have a God complex."

"I do not have a God complex!" Dr. Shepherd protested rather loudly.

"Yes. Yes, you do. You think that just because you're a great surgeon, you are God," Meredith said, furrowing her eyebrows as she concentrated on shelling another peanut.

"Hah! You think I'm a great surgeon," Dr. Shepherd said, doing a little fist pump.

"Duh," Meredith murmured, "Big deal. You're the head of neuro – you have to be good at what you do."

"Still. It's the first time you gave me a compliment. Thank you."

"You are so not welcome," Meredith murmured.

"See, this is why I don't like you," Derek said. "You have an attitude problem. You're rude. Very rude. Insolent. Impudent. I think you might be the rudest person I have ever met."

"I think you are the first person to call me rude. No one has ever called me rude before, so maybe the problem is not me," Meredith pointed out.

"Point noted," he said and then let out a histrionic sigh. "The room is spinning, Dr. Grey."

"Duh. It's been doing that for a while now," Meredith said irritably.

"I think we should go home now. We both have had too many drinks."

"It's all because of you. If you didn't challenge me, I would have never got this drunk. Now, how am I, a frail little girl, supposed to go home all alone at this time of the night?" Meredith asked angrily.

"Fine. If the fault is mine, I will make up for it too. Let's take a cab and I'll drop you off at your home. You don't have to go home alone in this condition."

Meredith gathered her purse and clambered off the barstool in an ungainly way. As she took a step forward, she staggered and immediately felt a tight grip on her elbow. She looked up to find Dr. Shepherd holding her elbow tightly. She smiled at him gratefully and then proceeded to walk towards the exit. As Meredith and Derek walked out of the bar, his hand still catching her elbow, she murmured, "Dr. Shepherd, sorry for calling you an asshole."

He knitted his eyebrows together as he said, "You didn't call me an asshole."

"Oh, but I did," Meredith said solemnly with a nod of her head. "Sorry."

* * *

"I can't find my house key!" Meredith exclaimed loudly as she rummaged in her purse, standing on the front porch of her house.

"Pray to God and then look for it. Maybe you'll find it," she heard Derek say with a chortle.

"Don't make lameass jokes, Dr. Shepherd," Meredith said angrily as she glared at him once before going back to foraging for her key.

He continued to chuckle as Meredith searched frantically for her key. After a few minutes, Meredith felt someone hovering over her. She turned around to find Dr. Shepherd standing behind her on the porch. The cab that was supposed to give him his ride home was gone.

"What are you still doing here? Where's the cab?" Meredith asked, bewildered.

"I told the driver to go."

"But why?" she queried, her head swimming.

"You can't find your key. I can't leave until I see you walk safely inside your house. So, I told him to leave," he said nonchalantly. "I'll hail another cab once you find your key."

Meredith stared blankly at Dr. Shepherd. He was...He was nice. He was really nice and...chivalrous or whatever. He let go of the cab just so that he could make sure that she got inside her house safely. He was being nice, and it was making Meredith feel...oddly light-headed.

"Ok," she said as she turned back to searching for her key. "Damn! I can't find it. Did I lose it?" she thought out loud.

"Give me your purse," Dr. Shepherd said, snatching the purse from Meredith's hands.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Here I was thinking that you are so chivalrous, and there you are, rummaging in a lady's purse? Where are your manners? And you call me rude..."

Dr. Shepherd didn't look like he had heard her. He continued to rummage inside the purse and finally took out a key. Sliding it inside the lock, he clicked it open and the door swung back.

"There you go, _honey_ ," he drawled out with an arrogant smirk, and Meredith felt her cheeks warm.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking her purse back from him without another look at him and starting to walk inside her house. However, she had barely taken two steps inside the foyer when she stumbled.

"Ow!" Meredith cried out as she landed square on her butt and a stinging pain shot through her hip.

"Meredith," Dr. Shepherd said as he rushed to her and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

"No, it didn't," Meredith said sarcastically as she tried to get up, but sat back down when her head swam. "I can't get up. I'm feeling dizzy," she said with a moan.

"Happens when you're drunk beyond imagination," he said with a laugh, and the next thing Meredith knew was that she was being scooped up by a very strong pair of arms.

"What are you –"Meredith asked as Derek picked her up in his arms and pressed her against his hard, chiselled chest. She was immediately enveloped by a strong, masculine scent of cologne, aftershave and something that was uniquely Dr. Shepherd.

"Which way is your bedroom?" he asked.

"Up the stairs. Second room, left down the corridor," Meredith murmured like a robot, too befuddled and stupefied by it all. She was in Dr. Shepherd's arms. Some part of her mind said that it had to be against her ethics and whatever.

However, she didn't complain as he carried her in his arms to her room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and basked in his unique and alluring scent, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder.

* * *

Derek looked down at Meredith's face once as he carried her down the corridor and found her face nuzzled safely in the crook of his neck. She was fast asleep. Smiling slightly at the sight of a sleeping Dr. Grey in his arms, he entered the room that was second down the corridor and walked up to the queen size bed.

Gently and carefully, he bent over and deposited her sleeping form on the sheets and untangled her arms from around his neck.

"Mmm...James..." Meredith moaned in her sleep as her brows furrowed a bit. Derek stood back up and, running a hand through his hair, he turned around to leave. Dr. Grey probably had a boyfriend named James, and she was saying his name in her sleep. No biggie. He was not James, he was Derek. Or Dr. Shepherd. And he should leave now.

As Derek took a step forward in order to leave, he felt a slight tug on his right hand. Spinning around, his eyes met the half-lidded eyes of Meredith.

"Dr. Shepherd...Please don't leave," Dr. Grey murmured as she enveloped his large hand with her tiny one. "Please stay with me tonight."

Derek hesitated. Somewhere in his fuzzy, fogged brain, an alarm was going off that was repeatedly telling him not to stay. But, as he looked into Meredith's sleep laden grey-green irides, he felt a compulsive urge to ignore that alarm. He was sleepy too, so what was the harm in falling in bed next to Meredith, especially when she was asking him to so beseechingly? And so, without thinking twice about the consequences or the fact that Dr. Grey was his intern whom he happened to hate, Derek's lips curved upwards in a small smile and he collapsed in the bed next to her, their entwined hands resting between their bodies.

* * *

 **A/N: aaah...Another cliffie! And a new name – James. Who is James? Is he really Meredith's boyfriend, or is there a story behind that too? And what will happen between Meredith and Derek now? Will they give in to their drunkenness and sleep with each other? More importantly, what will be the consequences if they do sleep with each other? Sound off in the box below and leave me a review! :) Btw, who thinks that we can make it to a 100 reviews? I think we can! I'll update again this month if we hit 100!**


End file.
